The end of Ahriman and the future of Thais
by brittaperry
Summary: This is sort of my version of the romance that I wished for in the game. The relationships are described in a more romantic light than they were shown in originally; well sort of. Also, I think it's pretty obvious that I DO NOT own Aveyond... after all, this is a fanfiction site. So, basically: Rhen/Lars, Elini/John, Te'ijal/Galahad and none for Dameon Maurva bye
1. A New Beginning

Te'ijal went into the tavern first. She was desperate for some alcohol to clear the taste of goblin blood from her mouth. The path to Sedona had never been so hard to walk through. 'And if that damned Sun Druid would have just done what I told him and heal the others…' she wouldn't have to have done what she did, she thought. 'Humans, what are they good for?'

She sat at one of the bar stools, soon joined by Galahad and Mad Marge. The vampress ordered a drink and banged her head in the wooden bar.

"Wife, calm yourself." Said Galahad.

"Galahad, you weren't there. The next time we get ambushed by stupid goblins, _you_ better be ready to suck their blood out."

"I'm sure Pirate John and Lars are thankful for what you did."

"They better be" she said, gulping down her drink. "Another"

"This ale ain't worth nuttin' "exclaimed Mad Marge after having a try of the Sedonian ale. "From where do 'ya import this stuff, eh?" she asked the bartender.

"Brumwich, m'lady."

"Ha! Brumwich. Those corn farmers dunno ale. Ask 'fer shippins' from Veniara next time, barkeep! I'm outta here, vamps, this bar ain't a good one. See 'ya at the manor." and Mad Marge left quickly, chuckling to herself 'Ale from Brumwich, whadda joke!'

Te'ijal smirked. 'Humans'.

"Wife?" the vampire asked, wondering if she had something to say.

"Husband." she simply replied, sipping more fire whiskey down her throat.

"I know this has troubled you-"

"Troubled? The taste of those bastards' blood is horrifying. And that stupid light magician couldn't heal properly. Two of our men almost died. And he just sat there… didn't even make that lightning trick to help me out."

"I am certain you will get through this, wife."

"Eh, it could've been worse. It could've been demons… they don't even have blood to begin with. But I'm still angry at that little light druid."

"As always, your famous grudge gets the best of you. You'll forgive him some day."

"How are you sure, husband?"

"I've forgiven you. I despise being a vampire, it is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but what is done, is done. There's no point in being mad anymore. And stop with the alcohol!" he pulled yet another shot of fire whiskey from Te'ijal's hands.

"Why are you so kind tonight, husband?"

"You may be the creature that I hate most, and you may have done unexplicable deeds to humans, but you are my wife. I respect my duties as a husband. Supporting you at your worst in your endless life is a duty I vowed to do."

"Even if we didn't have a proper wedding?" the vampress raised an eyebrow.

"Even if we didn't have a proper wedding." he confirmed. "Now, we must be going, we've been here long enough, you should not get drunk." and he tossed a few gold coins onto the bar.

"We are not humans, Galahad, we do not get drunk that easily."

"With your temper, I am not taking chances, wife." he said as he reached for her hand and escorted her out of the tavern. They walked to the manor which was only a few minutes away. As they approached, they could hear shouting. It was Rhen's voice, echoing in the halls of the estate.

"How could you do this, Dameon? Why didn't you heal them?"

"I couldn't! It wasn't working!"

"It always works! Lars and John could've died if it wasn't for Te'ijal! You are aware she hates goblin blood, why didn't YOU try to attack them?"

There was no answer.

"I'm going to go heal Lars. I don't want to talk to you."

"Lars is not a little boy, Rhen." their voices were clearer once the vampire couple entered the manor.

"You are such a hypocrite!" yelled Rhen, but when she saw her friends walking in on the fight, she stopped. "Te'ijal, I'm sorry for Dameon's foolish behaviour tonight." Dameon frowned. "Even if you don't want to admit it, Sun Druid, you still did a very stupid thing."

"Ahh, humans." Te'ijal chuckled. "Come, husband, let us go to bed. I've had enough fighting for one day." soon, the door to their room was shut with them behind it.

"Dameon, I've had enough. I am going to heal Lars. Like _you_ should have." Said Rhen once the vampires were out of the room.

"Rhen, I-"

"I do not wish to speak to you, Sun Druid."

The door of Lars' room slammed and Dameon was left alone in the living room.

Rhen let out a deep sigh and walked over to Lars' bed. He was laying there with a badly hurt shoulder. The cut from one of the goblin's sabers had been very deep.

"Rhen, are you okay?" he asked once he noticed the girl sit on the floor next to his bed.

"You're asking _me_ if I'm okay?" she laughed with a sad tone. "Who are you and what happened to the guy who was calling me a brat ten minutes ago when I was bringing him cold water?"

"You're still a brat." he smiled at her while she pouted, more for his amusement than her own. "But you're also the person with whom I began this quest."

"Hey, pretty boy, the task was originally for me. You were just my help."

"Dream on, village girl."

"Coming from a boy who grew up in Ghalarah" she couldn't surpress a grin.

"Ouch!"

"Did I hurt your feelings?"

"No, but the clensing potion did. It stings."

"Get over it, you brat." he laughed at her response.

* * *

"My leg is fine, Elini!" Pirate John shouted.

"Stay still."

"There is no escaping you, is there?"

"Not if I can help it. I have to heal you, since that druid didn't help."

"Is this how you treat your husbands, woman?"

"No, it is not. They don't bruise so easily." she replied. He frowned. "Besides, we have an Alchemist, she does most of the work with her get-well brews. Don't get offended, John."

"I wasn't." he lied.

"If you agreed to be my husband, though, I could make an exception when it comes to healing." she tried to cheer him up.

"But then I would have to stay in a house all day, in the heat, and do nothing! I would just wait for you to get another husband… and not to mention, _share_ you with your _other_ husbands!"

"I am not an object, you don't share me with anyone, pirate. _I_ rule _you_."

"Women, they think they can boss men around and- OUCH!"

"Pardon me, but I had to sterilize your wound, what were you saying?" Elini's voice, just like her expression, was completely emotionless, but he could tell she was surpressing a laugh.

"Nothin'… You're a good woman, Elini."

"And you are a good man, John. And you would make a fine husband."

"You will never let that go, will you?"

"It is a compliment, you might as well accept the fact." she said as she continued to wrap bandage around his leg wound. "Now, let's heal that bruise on your face."

"If you must." he gave up. Elini would always win and he knew it.

* * *

"Well, you're taken care of, Lars." said Rhen.

"Thank you." he replied and got into a sitting position on his bed. Rhen got up from and walked over to the door, Lars tracing her with his eyes.

"I don't know if I should, but I will ask anyway. Are you hungry?" Rhen looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Very much so." He grinned. Quickly, he got up from his bed and followed Rhen to the kitchen, his left arm completely covered in bandages.

While passing the living room, Rhen noticed that Dameon wasn't there. The fact that she didn't have to deal with him at the moment comforted her.

"Okay, pretty boy, sit down." She said to Lars, who was amused by her sudden command, but obeyed and settled himself into one of the chairs. "What do you want to eat, sandwich? Omelette? A roasted haunch, even? Cheese?"

"Surprise me." He grinned.

"Alright." Rhen got some vegetables, venison and butter and got to cooking. The whole time, Lars was not letting her out of sight. He was entertained by the sight of this purple haired girl in her night gown making food for him. She'd changed since they first met. A lot, in his opinion. They barely fought, and even when they did, it was about something like who will get the last piece of food from the platter or whose hair colour was more ridiculous.

After a while, Rhen reached for a frying pan from one of the floor cupboards. From where he was standing, Lars caught a glimpse of her underwear. It was dark green. He smirked, but didn't turn away.

"You like tomatoes, right?" she asked, breaking his eye contact with her body.

"Erm, yes. Yes, I do." He replied.

"And I know I'm making food for you, but I wouldn't mind if you could just heat the frying pan. I promise, it's the only thing I will ask of you… for now." She laughed. He smiled at the sound. For some reason, he felt like that was his favourite sound in the world. With his right hand, he conjured a small fireball towards the stove, where the pan was. "Thank you" she said.

"You're welcome."

She continued cooking in silence. Lars kept on studying her movement. Soon, the smell of fried venison was in the air. The sizzling sound of the meat went on for a while, then Rhen grabbed a fork and took it out of the pan. She placed the venison strips in the sandwich she was preparing. She added some mozzarella, because she knew that was Lars' favourite cheese (he could eat it with _everything_) and tomatoes. On the side, she put a few strips of lettuce. But those weren't for him. She wasn't that hungry, but she could use some greens and there was no point in an extra plate.

A sudden urge overtook Lars. While Rhen was still preparing his sandwich, he got out of his chair and walked over to her. She was so focused on preparing a nice surprise that she didn't even notice his presense behind her. When she was done, she called out:

"Hey, pretty boy, your food's ready" and turned around, to find herself face-to-face with Lars. She tried to step back but she couldn't. His eyes were gazing in hers.

And before he could do anything, she threw her hands around his neck and kissed him hard. He was so surprised that for a second, he didn't know how to react, even though he was planning on doing the same just a moment ago. He had no idea that kissing Rhen would feel like this. After a short while, he managed to take her in his left arm as far as his shoulder would allow him to. With his uninjured hand, he cupped one side of her face. She pulled away from the kiss to take a breath.

"I've wanted to do that for a really long time." She said.

"Me too." And he kissed her harder, pushing her against the cupboard, her body bending over the marble broad board. She pulled away again, even though she didn't desire to.

"Are you still hungry?" she was hoping he'd say no.

"It would be a shame to let your cooking go to waste." Lars said. He released her and grabbed the plate from the counter. Then, he sat at the table and took the sandwich in his right hand. Rhen was still pressing her body to the broad board. When she accepted the fact that there will be no more kissing tonight, she sighed and sat in the chair closest to Lars. She reached for one of the lettuce strips and unhappily started chewing on it. The sight of this beautiful girl eating lettuce with a bored look on her face made Lars grin.

She gave him a look and smirked.

"Well? Is the sandwich any good?" the girl asked.

"Not as good as your kisses." He answered happily.

"Careful, village boy, don't insult my cooking." After those words he stared at her, puzzled. She laughed. "I'm kidding, Lars."

"You're so beautiful, you know that?" she blushed at this response.

"You're not so bad yourself, pretty boy. Your hair colour is ridiculous, though."

"If that's what you really think, why is your underwear the same colour?" he had put the sandwich, almost untouched, back in the plate. Rhen's face grew more crimson. They looked at each other for a few moments.

"To hell with the food" said Lars as he reached to grab Rhen and kiss her. They quickly got up and she buried her hands in his green hair. Still kissing, they proceeded to Lars' room, where they slammed the door and continued to the bed.


	2. The Truth is Out

The next morning, Rhen and Lars left the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. But whilst sneaking through the house, they accidentally entered the dining room, where most of the party was already having breakfast. Elini was just serving some venison when they walked in. She took one look and knew exactly what was going on. Rhen and Lars, in their sleeping clothes, their faces turning completely scarlet, tried to soften the situation.

"Good morning, everyone. John, Marge, Te'ijal, Galahad… Elini." Rhen greeted.

"Good morning, northeners." Said Elini.

Lars took a seat, followed by Rhen, who cautiously sat a few seats further from his. They looked at each other, but quickly ended the eye contact.

"How is your shoulder, Lars?" Elini asked, walking over to his seat and putting meat in his plate.

"Err, it's fine. It will be completely healed in a few hours and I can take this off."

"Same with my leg." Said John.

"By the way, Te'ijal, I never thanked you for last night. I'm sorry for what you had to do for us."

"You're welcome, Lars. I'm not actually mad at _you two_, it's that little light druid that I need to set straight. Maybe I should've sucked his blood as well." Te'ijal grinned.

"Wife, no." was Galahad's immediate response.

"I was not being serious, husband. That kind of blood might as well be poisonous. It will burn me if I ever even take a drop of it."

"It's good to know you have limits." He said.

Everyone went on to eat in silence. At times, Lars would catch a glimpse of Rhen before setting his eyes back on his plate. The silence was broken with the opening of the dining room door. Dameon entered the room, still frowning.

"Ahh, light magician, how good of you to join us." said Te'ijal.

"I'm a Sun Druid, vampress." He replied, taking a seat next to Rhen. "I need to talk to you, Rhen."

"What, now? It's breakfast."

"It's important."

"I might have forgiven you enough to talk to you, but I will not leave my food for the sake of a conversation with you."

"Fine, I'll wait as long as I have to. Elini, would you pass me some eggs?"

"Here you go, Dameon." She was being friendly, but even he knew that she wouldn't forgive him easily after her potential husband was injured because of him.

Lars didn't like it that Dameon got to sit so close to Rhen. 'Why didn't I just sit next to her?' 'And then everyone would know that you two are way too close all of a sudden.'

'Too close…' He chased the thoughts away.

"Rhen, could you help me in the kitchen? I need to get some tomatoes and mozarella." Elini got up from her seat and urged the girl to come along, leaving Dameon red faced, although, not as much as Rhen.

Once outside of the dining room, Elini hurried her to the kitchen, where they were away for anyone to hear.

"How are you?" the woman's question confused Rhen. She was expecting a lecture on how to behave or how this is not a proper way to start a relationship.

"I'm wonderful, Elini…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Good. So, are you two together now? Don't take this the wrong way, I've always thought you and Lars were a good combination, but to everyone else it might not be as obvious that you have feelings for eachother. And what happened will possibly come as shocking to them if they ever were to find out."

"Oh… Well, I didn't think everyone would have to find out that soon…"

"Listen, Rhen, it's wonderful that you finally acted on your feelings, just be careful. I've seen the way Dameon looks at you, I'm sure he won't be as happy for you if he figures it out. And by the looks you two give eachother… that might be pretty soon."

Rhen blushed and stuck her eyes to the floor.

"It's completely fine, if you choose not to tell anyone yet. Especially Dameon. I won't forgive him soon about letting my future husband be injured like that."

"What?" the girl raised her head.

"I mean… _potential_ husband, of course."

"Elini are… are you and John getting married?"

The Veldt woman sighed.

"Yes, yes, alright. We've decided to get married. I wanted to go to Thais for the ceremony later this month."

"What happened with you two last night?"

"We talked for the most part. I left the room once to get us a snack, John is always hungry…and I saw the sandwich in the kitchen. Mozzarella? Only Lars eats that. In fact, he's the only reason we buy it. And he can't cook, so I put two and two together. The wonderful thing about this wedding is that now I don't have to use a love potion on John. He just agreed to marry me all by himself." The woman smiled widely.

"I'm very happy for you two."

"As am I for you. Now, we should probably get the food we promised, we've been gone long enough."

* * *

The ladies returned shortly to the dining room. Elini, serving sliced tomatoes from a giant plate and Rhen, holding a smaller one, filled with thick mozzarella slices. She headed for Lars' seat and placed it in front of him, secretly rubbing one hand through the back of his head to touch his hair.

"Thanks, Sword Singer."

"No problem, Necromancer." She laughed and then returned to her seat with an angry Dameon right next to her.

"Rhen-"

"What Dameon?"

"Can I please speak to you?"

"Aren't you now? Or do stupid questions not count?"

"Please…"

"Let me finish my breakfast, Sun Druid."

He exhaled heavily.

* * *

"Can we talk now?" he asked an hour later, when everyone was heading out to town. Rhen stayed inside the house with him, giving Lars a nod while he was heading out the door.

"What is it?"

"Can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

"You almost let John and Lars die and not to mention, left Te'ijal no choice but to drink goblin blood. Her doing that is just a bit better than drinking blood like yours. How could you do that, Dameon?"

"I'm sorry, Rhen, but I just wanted-"

"Wanted what? For them to die?"

He was silent.

"You… you didn't actually want that, did you?" she asked, but once again, there was no reply. "Did you or did you NOT, Dameon?"

"Yes!" as the word escaped his mouth, Rhen stepped back, frightened. "I wanted Lars to be gone! I didn't expect the vampress and the stupid pirate to be there when it happened!"

"When what happened? W-when they got ambushed?"

"I only wanted what's best for you, Rhen! Lars can't be who you need him to be. He's not a good natured person, you were his slave for fuck's sake!" Rhen never expected him to say that. He didn't seem the kind of person who would swear… not that it mattered anymore, he was already completely changed as it is. "Say something!" he shouted as the girl's tears started to fall from her face.

"What could I possibly say? What would you want me to say, Dameon? That I forgive you? That what you did was nothing more than your way of you showing your affection and that I am grateful? That I love you? I _don't__, _Dameon! And I didn't even think you could be so blind as to not see that I care for Lars and if he were dead, and you couldn't stop that, I would _never _forgive you!"

"Rhen, I'm sorry! I can try and make it better, I'll do anything for you to forgive me."

"You can't _do_ anything. You tried to kill Lars. And more importantly, you even _wanted_ to. I don't understand this, what would you gain from his death?"

"I wanted to be with you, Rhen. And I know he has feelings for you. I thought it was the only way… I love you, Rhen."

Rhen chocked back some tears. She suddenly felt more eyes on her. Everyone had returned quickly, shocked looks on their faces, standing at the front door. Lars was nearest.

"Rhen? Rhen, are you okay?" he hurried over to her, putting his right hand on her shoulder. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, Lars."

"See, Necromancer boy, she's fine." Dameon's tone was rude and impatient.

"You made her cry. She's not fine. What have you done, you fucker?"

"I told her the truth, you idiot."

"Alright, listen!" Te'ijal stepped into the scene, holding out her bow and an arrow in her hands. "I don't know what you did to make her so upset, but I am not a fan of human drama. The sooner we get down to the problem, the better for you, got it, _Sun Druid_?" she hissed the two last words, staring at Dameon, ready to strike if needed.

"Wife… don't-"

"No, Galahad. If he does anything more to the chosen one, I will attack."

"Rhen, it's okay, please don't cry anymore." said Lars, wiping her tears away.

"Lars, he tried to kill you…"

"What?" five voices spoke in synch. Lars stood silent.

"He… he wanted to kill you. So that he could be with me. He didn't know Te'ijal and John would be there. He thought… he thought that it would be just you. Lars, if you died, I-"

"Shh, don't." the boy pulled her close and kissed her hair. She sobbed her final tears on his chest.

The room fell silent for about a few minutes. Rhen pulled away from Lars. She wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her blouse.

"Te'ijal, please, put the bow down." She said. The vampress gave the druid a supsicious look, then lowered the weapon. "I don't share your feelings, Dameon. I never will. I don't love you and I can't forgive you. I won't let anyone from this party kill you, but you should know that from now on, I won't let them help you either. Everyone, I need to discuss something with all of you. Away from _him_. You need to stay here and not move an inch." She had turned to Dameon again.

"I'll take care of that, Rhen." Elini stepped forward and silently summoned a succubus. The underground temptress wrapped herself around the light druid and gave him a hungry look. He looked terrified. There was no way he'd leave while a bloodthirsty creature was so close to him. "Akari, make sure he doesn't do anything even more stupid." The succubus hissed and smiled in understanding.

Everyone departed to the dining room, where just an hour ago they were having a semi-normal breakfast. They sat around the table and for a minute, no one spoke. Te'ijal broke the silence. She had never enjoyed suspense.

"Human, if you will, tell us what you know."

"I already did… he wanted to kill Lars. But he didn't count on you to be there to save them."

"Why on earth would he wish Lars' death? True, the boy is a pain in the behind at times, no offense, but then again, we all do annoying things once in a while."

"He wanted to be with me. He thought I loved him and that maybe if Lars was out of the way, we would be together."

"What a foolish assumption." Said Elini.

"I knew that mad man had feelings for you." Lars looked at Rhen.

"It's not like I never suspected it, Lars. But to go to such lengths…"

"The question be, what are we gonna do with 'im?" asked Mad Marge.

"It would be wrong to just leave him out, he's a druid we need in order to defeat Ahriman." – said Elini. "And not to mention, it would be foolish to think that the chamber in the Sun Shrine would open without him. We need to get the sword that's inside."

"So… we'll just ignore him the whole way to the Stronghold Temple?" asked John.

"And afterwards, when we get sword?" added Lars.

"Afterwards… we'll go to Thais." Said Elini.

"But, we would still need to defeat Ahriman first, what would we be doing in Thais?" Galahad was confused.

"Well, I need you to attend a special occasion." Elini's face blushed slightly.

"Oh, we're telling them?" John got up from his chair, holding it to support himself.

"Yes, I suppose we should, we might be dead in a few days anyway."

"Okay… do you want to or should I?"

"What's going on?" Lars was getting impatient.

"We're getting married." The words spilled out of Elini's mouth.

"Another husband, Veldt woman?" Te'ijal wasn't surprised.

"Yes, but… this one is more special."

"I am?"

"You are, John."

He bent down and kissed Elini. The party had never seen them kiss, it was both shocking and sweet at the same time.

"Husband, perhaps we should officially be married as well. What do you say?"

Galahad sighed. Te'ijal laughed and caressed his pale cheek. Of course he would agree. He knew Te'ijal would not have it any other way.


	3. Twice

"We are here today to join Elinidana'ter'Lithir de Aramati and John Aelgar in marriage. I've also been told to keep this short since our dear bride has already had 3 other weddings. If anyone objects to these two people being bonded in marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their tongue." No one spoke out. The two people standing at the altar just looked at each other happily. John never thought he would marry, especially to a woman from Veldt, but Elini was the ultimate exception. She looked beautiful in her traditional Veldtitian red wedding dress. Everyone in the party, except Dameon, who was cursing every minute of his time spent, was truly happy for the couple. "By the power, invested in me by the traditions of Thais, I pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride." After those words, Elini jumped on John and kissed him as hard as she could without making him fall. The party applauded and rose from their seats.

Te'ijal and Galahad congratulated the newlywed couple as they approached the vicar.

"Excuse us, my good man." said Galahad "We would like to be officially married."

"And no need to tell everyone, human, just pronounce us."

"As you wish." The man seemed puzzled. "Do you.." he turned to the bride.

"Te'ijal Ravenfoot"

"Do you, Te'ijal Ravenfoot take-"

"Galahad Teomes"

"… To be your husband for the rest of your existence?"

"I do."

"And do you, Galahad agree to everything I just said to her?"

The paladin sighed. _Of course, keeping it short._

"I do." He said.

"You're officially married." The vicar told them, afterwards going inside his chambers.

"Well, Galahad, we are _officially_ husband and wife now."

"Yes, Te'ijal, I believe we are."

"You have never used my name. Why the change of heart, vampire knight?"

Galahad looked at his wife's raised eyebrows. He decided on not answering. Instead, he just closed in and gave her a peck on the lips. His wife's look after was the most amusing thing he'd ever seen.

"Come, wife, let us join the others."

"Of course, husband."

The vampires soon merged with the rest of the party, who were ready to head out and celebrate at the inn. It may not have been the best wedding Elini had had so far, but she certainly enjoyed it a lot more when it was with John. Although her other husbands were great and strong men, John had spent more time with her, she had observed his actions and knew that he was a good man and that he would make her even happier.

"To the bride and groom!" Rhen raised a glass. The party had gathered at the inn to celebrate and spend the night. They had bought a bottle of Red Dragon Wine, presumably John's favourite. Even Mad Marge had a good opinion for it.

Dameon tried to smile and be polite, but the anger he still felt for Lars and Rhen got more bottled up with each second. Soon, everyone departed to their rooms; John and Elini shared one, so did Te'ijal and Galahad. Rhen and Lars asked for a separate double bedroom as well, while Dameon and Marge refused to sleep in a room together so they each got their own single bedrooms.

Lars closed the door. Rhen was sitting on the bed, taking her pumps off. High heels were not in her nature. Lars kept leaning on the door, arms crossed.

"You look beautiful in that dress." He said. Rhen smiled. It was true, as a maid of honor, the Veldtitian tradition entailed that she had to wear a dress in the colours of the night. It was a beautiful dark blue velvet colour with black lace, slightly longer than the skirt, reaching to the top of her knees.

"I've never seen you wear a suit. It looks very good on you." She replied.

"So, what do you plan we do now?" he stepped away from the door and sat next to her, moving a lock of her purple hair, that had loosened from her braid, to her ear.

"I don't know, we could just go to sleep. It has been a long day and we did fly a dragon all the way over here. It's amazing that Elini has so many traditional outfits on short notice." She looked at him, trying to hide a grin.

"Mhm, we could do that." He agreed, barely containing his laughter.

After about a minute, the both put their arms around eachother, taken in a passionate kiss. They started moving upwards the bed, neither stopping. Rhen grabbed Lars' coat, trying to take it off of him, while he struggled to undo the laces on her dress. They unlocked lips to take a breath, and Rhen used the time to take her underwear off. After moments, Lars' suit was laying somewhere on the floor and he was there, only in his underpants. He hurriedly tried to take Rhen's dress off, but it got stuck on her head, so he took the opportunity to kiss Rhen's belly while she was fighting with the fabric. He continued to tease her until she finally managed to escape and tossed the dress to the floor. Soon they were both completely naked, kissing each other. He heard Rhen's moan when his tongue finally entered her mouth, but his smile was lost somewhere in the action. Rhen had tangled her hands in his hair, tilting her head back when he kissed her neck.

"Lars" she said through her breath.

He groaned in response, still sucking on inches of her soft skin as he went lower.

"Please…" she moaned.

Seconds later, she cried out when he entered her, slowly pulling out, then going even deeper. As he lifted his head to kiss her neck, he could feel her warm panting exhales on his skin, and the softness of her breasts against his chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands pulling his hair as they both went back and forth, sweaty and moaning. Lars started pushing further, making her stand and sit, leaning on the head board of the bed. His hands loosened her braid and then cupped her face, making her head stand still as he invaded her mouth with his tongue once more.

She was close to her release, and so was he. He took his hands from her face and pressed them against the wall, thrusting his hips faster. She tilted her head back as her hands clawed at his shoulders.

"Rhen!" he yelled out as his release was made.

"Lars!" she called just a second after him.

Panting and sweaty, they released eachother. Lars pulled out from her and fell onto the bed, breathing heavily. She layed back on the cool wall, playing with his hear and smiling. He raised his head and looked at her. She was so beautiful when her hair was messy and her body was sweaty and hot.

"I love you… so much" he mumbled, digging his head deeper into the sheets.

"You have no idea how much I love you, Lars." She responded and let out a laugh. "Get up." She said. He lifted his head and sat beside her.

"Again?" he was eager and confused at the same time.

"Oh, Lars, no. I think one's enough, don't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"I was just wondering…"

"Mhm?"

"Well, it's pretty late. And there are no guards around the fountain near the castle at this time. I could use a swim." she gave him a puppy eyed look.

"You want us to go out now and swim in the king's fountain?"

"Technically, there's no king-"

"After midnight, on Elini's wedding, while the world is still at stake and the most evil man in the whole of creation is in hiding, in a temple, in a cave, infested with demons, right outside the gates of the city?"

"When you put it like that, it really doesn't sound that fun-"

"Let's go."

The inkeeper was asleep on his bureau, drooling over a few stacks of paper. Rhen and Lars sneaked past him, exiting the inn. The night breeze suddenly hit their skin. It was better than the early mornings in Clearwater, Rhen thought. As quietly as they could, the couple made their way to the fountain near the castle. There were no guards. The girl dipped her bare legs into the water, exhaling with relief that the water was cooled.

"Come on, Lars."

"I need to take these clothes off." He was struggling with his pants.

"I know weren't supposed to come here naked, but you didn't have to be so fully dressed."

"Who knows what could happen? And tonight, I'm trying to be responsible. It's you who usually thinks ahead but it seems I have to do it for the both of us this time."

"Stop complaining and come unzip this dress so I can get in."

He helped Rhen take the dress off and then slowly went into the water. She joined him, grinning in his direction the whole time.

"What?" she asked when he smiled back.

"How did we get here?"

"Well, we just passed a few stone houses…"

"No, I mean, how did we come so far? In the years we've spent together, I never imagined this. I felt like it could never be true."

"Really?" she stood still, slightly scared.

"I didn't think you liked me, Rhen."

"Honestly, at first, I didn't. You were bossy and rude, your mother was being horrible to me. Oh, and you called me Peta!"

"How was I supposed to know that you're so powerful? I had no idea that we would ever be envolved after you became a Sword Singer."

"Heh, me neither. But," she moved closer, standing on top of him. "I love you. And that is not going to change, ever." She leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you, too." He said, grabbing her waist and pulling her close.

"So, we are not going to talk about this anymore, okay? You're everything that I want and no stupid Dameon is going to change that." He nodded in response. "Good. Now, do you want to be on top, or should we just continue like this?"

"I thought you said one's enough." He raised his left eyebrow, smiling.

"Yes, in _there_. Those poor beds can't handle more of you. Of course, we don't have to if-" she stopped mid-sentence, feeling his excitement slightly poking her stomach. She grinned. He pulled her closer and after a minute, they were making love in the fountain.


	4. The Angel of Nightmares

Something was wrong. The cloak didn't help. _They_ could see them. _All _of them.

'This is bad. This is really, really bad.' Thought Rhen. They weren't invisible. Why wasn't it working? She panicked. How much mana would it take to defeat all of them? Did they have enough covey balm? How is this happening!

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a shriek. A wyvern had caused a thermal storm. The sound was excruciating. Luckily, it missed. No one was hurt. 'Fuck, how long can we keep this up?' went through Lars' head as he dodged a bomb. It took Te'ijal seventeen poison arrows, but she finally managed to kill two wyverns. There was one left.

"Lightning Storm!" yelled Lars, but his magic hardly damaged the cursed creature. It took an arrow and a slice with the Sword of Shadows for it to be finished. Covered with dark green blood, the party continued to roam through the Stronghold Temple, their footsteps light and their heart rhythms' accelerating… at least for the ones whose hearts were still beating. They managed to sneak past half a dozen wyverns, who where moving in dead silence close by, turning their ugly heads to try and catch sounds, but somehow missing the entire party.

Rhen thought they were safe for now. A few more corridors and they would be face-to-face with Ahriman. Her stomach turned. They walked quietly for a few minutes, not once catching an enemy in sight.

And then they saw it. _An Angel of Death_. It was guarding the entrance to the next set of passages. It wasn't attacking. 'Why isn't it attacking?' They were right in front of it. But it didn't move. It was waiting for something. Then Elini figured it out.

"It's waiting for us to make the first move." She said in a deep, slightly scared voice. It was an unusual thing to hear Elini scared.

"What if we just try and pass the entrance without bothering it?" Lars knew what was coming as soon as he said that.

"Are you mad? Ahriman isn't a fool, Lars! This is a strategic monster. It waits for its enemies to attack. That way, it doesn't reveal any of its moves on the first go. That way… it always has the advantage." Elini's throat was suddenly dry. She licked her lips to try and dilute her bodily need for water.

"He put all those wyverns to confuse us." Said Te'ijal. "They were blind, but they could hear. And they could smell. They act fast, they attack on the spot. This creature doesn't. He expected of us to just attack, assuming its instincts are the same as a wyvern's."

"And if we attack now, we would just fall into his plan."

"We don't have a choice, Lars." Rhen knew it. "We have to. It will never strike, it's not made that way."

"Should we do it now?"

"At once?" John couldn't imagine what would happen if all of the attacks were done at the same time.

"On three." Said Elini. "One!"

"Two!"

"THREE!"

* * *

Another shriek echoed through the halls. They were almost there, just a few more stupid wyverns. Rhen, Marge, Galahad and John sliced through the creatures fiercily, but it took more than physical strength to defeat them. Elini summonned her Red Demon a few times, she could feel her mana running out. Te'ijal's arrows were the only thing that kept on going after everyone else was down. They were enchanted with old magic, something that is exceptionally hard to break. Once an arrow struck an enemy, a new one took its place. The vampress struck her final victim, who landed on the ground almost without a sound.

"Humans, how are you managing?" she asked, once they were walking again.

"We're fine." Said Rhen in a spiteful tone. She was tired and even more so angry, but she gave whatever it took to contain herself.

"Rhen, you're not fine. Your arm's bleeding." Lars stopped her.

"I'm going to be okay."

"Rhen! Stop! If even one member of this party isn't completely healed and ready to fight, we are not going into battle!" said Elini. "Everyone, we are resting!"

The party stopped walking. Out of unnecessary cloaks and even a ball gown, they managed to make a small camp site, there was space for everyone, but it was well hidden amongst the stones.

"I think we have just enough medicine to survive." Mumbled Lars and he went through his backpack.

"No need to worry, human. I've taken care of it and bought out the store in Thais. Let's hope these will do." She opened her bag, full of shiny little bottles and a lot of green leaves wrapped in brown paper. "Each of you has to take at least ten of these cassia leaves. We do not know what could happen and who could die. So, whoever gets to those first, heal them quickly and carry on. Got it?" The party nodded and a few even said 'Yes' in response.

An hour passed. They had picked up all of the fabric off the stone floor, packed everything back and carried on through the corridor. Rhen could feel that it was almost over. And yet… she also felt like something was missing. Or _someone_.

She turned around. Her eyes scatterred around the area. '_Dameon!' _she yelled in her head.

"Dameon!" everyone froze. They turned their heads to look. He wasn't there. None of them had noticed that since they walked in that temple, he had been long ahead of them.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Lars. "I'm going to kill him!"

"Boy, stop it!" Galahad ordered him. "Shouting out death threats is not helping any of this. So calm yourself, because we need to keep moving, Sun Druid or not."

"Mmm, husband. Fiery. I like it." Te'ijal smiled.

"Wife, not now." His tone was almost begging this time.

"Alright, alright."

The party passed an arc that was almost completely destroyed. Soon, they found themselves on a rocky platform inside a giant cave that ended their journey. John and Marge explored on the edge of it, looking up, then down.

"What are those things?" he shouted to Elini. She came closer to him, taking a look into the pit that was full of little blue shiny dots. And they were moving.

"Those are flightless demons. I guess Ahriman created them to secure that no one stays alive even if they fall." At her words, the pirate shiverred.

"So, what now? We came all this way, for nothin'?" asked Marge. As soon as she said that, the earth quaked. From above, an angel appeared.

"Another Angel of Death?"

"No, Lars. Look at its wings. They're purple. The Angels of Death have black wings. This right here… is the Angel of Nightmares." Elini's tone was even more frightened this time.

"And we have to fight it, of course, now don't we?" said Lars.

"Yes, we do." Rhen replied. "We have to. I don't care how long it takes, we're here now and we can't let Ahriman slip away again! Lure of Darkness!" she shouted as she attacked, the Sword of Shadows glowing with magical power. The Sword Singer managed to cut the Angel deeply in its left wing. After that, the creature looked like it had been awoken. It summoned a storm, causing the cave to quake. Parts of the surrounding rock started falling, some on the platform, others in the pit, where they smashed into the demons, who shrieked in agony as they were being crushed.

Te'ijal shot an arrow right into its already damaged wing. Suddenly, the angel was emitting a sharp sulfuric smell out of its body. It was poisoned. 'That should make it a bit easier' the vampress thought. She shot another arrow into the angel's hip and the smell got stronger. Elini decided to sacrifice almost her entire mana in one go this time, summonning Aesma, the demon from the Dark Caverns. The giant creature appeared in a ghostly form, but its real strenght was still preserved. It charged at the Angel, pouring dark magic out of itself. The Angel's body suddenly became deformed, only its clawing limbs remained unchanged. Aesma disappeared. 'Shit.' Elini thought. 'I can't summon anymore.' The misshaped creature, now standing in front of the party, charged at Rhen with what was left of its right clawed wing. Heading for Rhen's head, it missed, only managing to cut off a part of her braid. The locks of purple hair scatterred onto the floor.

"Shadow Dance!" Rhen shouted. She struck the Angel with her sword, completely cutting off a claw. Marge and John charged for the remaining limbs, fiercily cutting into the dark creature. Elini used her whip to contraattack when the Angel threw giant pieces of enchanted rock at her. Te'ijal carefully shot a few arrows into the deformed Angel's back, the smell of sulfur now becoming almost unbearable. Galahad struck it with his sword, cutting deeply into its flesh.

'It's still fucking strong, damnit.' Breathing heavily, Rhen yelled out 'Nightbird Song!' And as dark smoke, in the shape of a giant grey-winged blackbird started emitting from her Sword, she ran into the Angel, jumping at the last moment and swiftly chopping off its misshaped head. At once, it stopped moving. The remains of its body quickly fell into the pit, crushing a few screaming demons.

And then there was silence.


	5. The End of Ahriman

Even if she knew it wasn't over, Rhen's insides cheered. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Lars coming up to her.

"Rhen! Rhen, that was amazing!" he grabbed her and kissed her hard, almost lifting her off her feet. She laughed, but ended it very quickly.

"We're not finished. We have to find Ahriman." Her tone was serious.

"Will you marry me?" the words splurred out of Lars' mouth before he could contain himself.

"What?" it was the only word she could fanthom.

"I know this isn't the perfect time to ask but-"

"Oh, how touching. About to die and still thinking about love. Honestly, Dameon, it makes me sick." They heard _his _voice coming from the entrance of the cave. "Don't you agree?"

"Yes, master." '_Dameon'._

The two figures approached the party. John's face went pale.

"It's wonderful to see you, Rhen Pendragon." Said Ahriman.

"You son of a bitch!" the girl screamed. But it wasn't directed at him. "How could you do this? You left us and joined _him_!"

"Don't speak now, Dameon. Or you shall regret it."

The Sun Druid stood silent.

"Let me deal with this." Lars stepped forward to attack Ahriman. Ahriman raised his right hand and in seconds, Lars was pinned up against the cave wall, above the remaining demons that started clawing at the bottom of the pit.

"Lars!" Rhen screamed. She was about to cast a sword spell, but she caught his expression. 'DON'T." he mouthed at her.

"Now." Ahriman started in a contained voice. "You've finally come to face me, haven't you, Sword Singer? And I see you've brought your party along. Brought them to their deaths." He chuckled. Rhen quickly got to swing with her sword, when Ahriman raised his left hand. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You wouldn't want sweet young Lars to fall into that pit now, would you?" she lowered her weapon slightly, not letting the mad man out of her sight. She looked over at Dameon. His expression was heavy with pain. 'Traitor.'

"What do you want?" this time it was Elini who spoke.

"Ah, demon summonner. It _is_ an honor." He bowed slightly, not moving his right hand an inch.

"Answer her, human." Said Te'ijal. The vampress had absolutely no intention to give in to panic. She had lived for almost a millenium and now there was someone not even half her age, threatening the whole of humanity. 'I'm bored with all of this, all they want to do is rule the world.'

"And of course, Te'ijal Ravenfoot. I've heard about you, creature of the night."

"I do not care what you've heard." She stepped forward to face him. Rhen thought she saw a tiny wince in the corner of his eye. "Answer her. What is it that you so purposely want? And you can skip the part about world domination, we know of it already."

"All I want," he started. "is the heiress' soul." He smiled politely like he had just asked for salmon at the Sedona sea market. A few gasps echoed in the cave.

"And you," Te'ijal turned to Dameon. "I can understand you were displeased when the chosen one rejected your foolish love attempts, but have you really stooped that low, human?"

"Dameon has been on my side since he was born. What better weapon to use against the world than the child of Talia Maurva?" Ahriman chuckled again. "Of course, he's of much less worth now that he's told me everything."

"Dameon?" tears were now falling from Rhen's eyes. "The whole time, you were with Ahriman?"

"Rhen, he is the most powerful man in the world! Don't you see what it could be like?" his voice was eager but trembling.

"Enough, Sun Druid." But Dameon didn't stop. He was overwhelmed all of a sudden.

"I love you, Rhen. And all I wanted to do since I met you was to rule the world by your side. You're cunning and beautiful and you would rule the people so well!"

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Ahriman yelled. His left hand cast a spell that shoved Dameon right next to Lars. The Necromancer turned his head to face the Druid.

"You are a pathetic moron!" he said.

"Look who's talking. You're just a boy! What makes you think that Rhen would ever want you? She'll get tired of you and then she will know she made the wrong choice!"

"Shut the fuck up, the both of you!" Elini shouted.

"Elini…" started John.

"You too, John. Do NOT speak." She commanded.

"Listen to the woman, Pirate." Marge stepped in. John gave her a confused a look but didn't say a thing.

"I see you've got quite a fiery bunch of warriors at your side, heiress." Ahriman said in his sleezy deep voice.

"Te'ijal, step back." Rhen knew she had to end this. No matter what she did, Lars could fall into that pit at any moment. She knew Dameon deserved worse, but being bertayed by your own master was still betrayal. Rhen had had enough of that for a lifetime. The vampress took three steps back, slowly, observing the change.

"Don't be so quick to fight me, Pendragon. I have two loves on the wall for you. If I drop them… let's just say if you lived afterwards, for all your life you would hear their agonizing screaming in your ears." The Sword Singer looked up at Lars. Then Dameon. Both of them had different looks on their faces. Barely, Lars raised his hand, showing a thumbs up. She thought she had imagined it.

"I'll be fine, Rhen!" he shouted out. "Stop wasting time!" She smiled.

"I love you, Lars."

"I love you, too, Rhen."

"You want my soul, Ahriman?" she said with a smirk on her face. "Come and get it. Windwatcher's song!" in a second, her sword cut through the air. Ahriman has moved quickly.

"Careful, little Sword Singer." Said Ahriman, but soon after he yelled out in pain. Te'ijal had shot him in the left shoulder. The smell of sulfur was barely noticable so far. The mad man moved the index finger of his right hand. Lars slided down the cave wall slightly. Ahriman then joined his hands and soon, he could control both the Necromancer and the Druid with his right palm. With his free hand, she reached up and took out the arrow out of his shoulder, throwing it in a random direciton. Galahad, John and Marge charged at him, but he pushed them away. He summoned four wyverns to distract them with. Elini couldn't summon creatures and bag of medicine was fuck knows where. 'My only option is to whip this out.' With that thought, she summoned her ten foot long whip to appear in her hand and then attacked the wyvern.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, vampress. A few more quaked and the top of this cave with collapse. Still afraid of the sun?" Te'ijal didn't even wince. She and Galahad had applied sun block a long time ago. But he was mocking her. 'That mistake cannot go unpunished.' She shot another arrow at the sorcerer, but missed. 'Shit.'

"Lure of Darkness!" Rhen shouted. She aimed for his other shoulder, but only managed to cut his thigh as he jumped back. Lars and Dameon slipped lower now. Rhen inhaled sharply. "Te'ijal, help the others." The vampress looked at her with disbelief.

"Are you mad?"

"Do it, please! I can handle him!" she screamed, her voice showed she was desperate, unlike her firm hands that held the Sword of Shadows up high. Te'ijal stepped away, leaving the girl to handle Ahriman. He laughed.

"You think you can defeat me?"

"Not alone, no. But with the poison running through your blood and my friends, yes, I can."

"Try me, Pendragon." Lars was almost near the demons' claws.

* * *

"Nightbird Song!"

"How long is this shiled going to last?" said Lars through gridded teeth.

"Until it has to, Lars. Now shut it."

They had both fallen into the pit a long time ago. But while on the wall, they had united temporarily and hatched up a plan. Just before falling into the hands of the demons, Dameon had cast Shield Extora, protecting him and Lars from their clawing paws. And just to drop all suspicions, they had almost screamed their lungs out after falling. When Rhen heard Lars' screams, her stomach turned a thousand times, twisting a tighter knot on each one.

The wyverns were defeated. But the party had little strenght left. Before first entering the cave, they had almost drank all of the medicine. A small dose of it still usable, but the bag was lost somewhere. The heroes were exhausted, but kept going. And Ahriman was also almost at the limit of his mana. But Rhen kept going. Mana or not, she would continue striking to rid the world of this evil 'and to avenge Lars' death.' She thought the demons had probably ripped him into pieces. Not even a million cassia leaves would be able to help.

Ahriman conjured lightning. Rhen swung her sword to counterattack but instead, she sent it to the ceiling. The rocks started falling down, the sun peering through the gigantic hole that was being created.

"You've just condemned your vampire friends to burn, Sword Singer." Said Ahriman, laughing in his deep voice.

The sun blinded Te'ijal but she was not affected. Galahad was not so lucky. It seemed he had forgotten to cover himself in sunblock. He yelled out and fell to his knees.

"Galahad!" Te'ijal felt like someone had shot her with her own arrows in the back. This was a strange feeling for her. She ran to her husband, standing on top of him, shielding his face from the sun. "What have you done, Paladin? Why did you not cover yourself earlier?"

"I don't know, wife. I supposed we wouldn't have contact with the sun for quite a while."

"My foolish paladin." The vampress sighed.

"Well, what do you know? That was unexpected. Still, two vampires with one trick. And I owe it to you, Sword Singer."

"Wipe that fucking smile off your face, you bastard!" Rhen got prepared to strike.

"Face it, Rhen. Nothing and no one can defeat me. Not even the poison running through me. And you are almost out of mana. I see it in your eyes, Pendragon."

Rhen growled at him.

"RHEN, I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!" suddenly echoed.

"Lars?" The girl's heart jumped.

"Impossible." Ahriman's smile turned into a frown.

"Everything is possible." The girl decided to use the last of her mana. "Shadow Dance!"

The Sword of Shadows shined brighter than the sunlight. Rhen started swinging it over her head, dancing in circles on her toes. With a swift move, she ran the sword up Ahriman's waist. It first punctured one of his lungs, then exited through his left shoulder.

"Well…" Ahriman spat out some blood. "Well done, Rhen Pen-" and he was finished. The girl plunged out her sword, breathing heavily. She didn't even think twice about the sorcerer. She went to the edge of the platform, looking for Lars. When she noticed green amongst all the blue dots circling it, her stomach turned over again.

The remaining party, except Te'ijal, who was still hovering over Galahad, got to the edge as well.

"Lars!" Rhen shouted.

"I'm trying, Rhen!"

A few minutes passed.

"Lightning Storm!" Lars cast. The demons all around him started moving like they were thunder-struck. "How do we get up?" he turned to Dameon.

"I don't know."

"Elini! Can you help us out?" asked Lars.

"How could I help? I barely have any mana left!"

"Summon the Red Demon!"

Elini grunted.

"I'll try." She closed her eyes and concentrated. Slowly, the Red Demon appeared. Elini's face wrinkled. She opened her eyes and looked at it. "Mushu, _help _them." She said.

The Demon headed into the pit, stopping over Dameon and Lars' heads. They climbed on its back and it took them back up again. When they landed, Elini scratched the Demon under his chin.

"Good Mushu." She said.

Lars ran up to Rhen, now lifting her off her feet in a hug.

"I thought I'd lost you!" she said, tears running down her eyes.

"Every moment down there, spent with Dameon was a living nightmare, Rhen. I love you." They closed lips.

"Yes." She said, gasping for air.

"What?" he put her down, his hands playing with her messy hair.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. He thought for a moment. Then he remembered.

"… Really?"

"YES! How many times do I have to say it, you idiot?" she kissed him again. He started laughing.

"Wait… what about Dameon?"

"What about him?" she asked.

"What happens next?" Rhen turned around to see the Sun Druid, who was even more in pain than before.

"I have a plan."

The girl approached Dameon. She was holding something in the palm of her hand.

"Rhen…I-" she opened her hand and blew the dust in it into his face. He was stopped mid-sentence.

"How are you now?" she said in a firm voice.

"Ahriman… he killed my father. He cursed me!" Dameon kept on thinking aloud. "HE was responcible and all this time, I thought it was my mother's fault-"

"I take it you're better."

"I finally see the truth now. I cannot imagine what my treachery must've brought upon us."

"You almost got Lars killed. Again."

"I am deeply sorry, Rhen… Can you ever forgive me for what I've done? For telling everything to Ahriman? For trying to kill Lars? For anything?"

"You were under a spell when you betrayed us. That… I suppose I can excuse. But I don't think that trying to ambush Lars was a side-effect of the curse that was placed on you."

"I still love you, Rhen. And I always will. I admit that not all my actions were out of inability to feel right and wrong."

"We are not going to be together, Dameon. I'm in love with Lars." The Druid shiverred at those words. "You'll have to accept it."

He sighed.

"It seems I could've never given you your happiness."

"If you try hard, I might let you be my friend again. Nothing more. It's up to you. I think we can try and forget what happened for the sake of starting a new life."

"I would be honoured to be your friend."

"Then, the first thing you could do is come to the wedding. I expect all of my friends to be there."

"Wedding?" Elini stepped in. "Rhen, you and Lars-"

"Yes."

The Veldt woman smiled widely and hugged Rhen.

The girl soon ended the hug, red-faced.

"Let's get back to Thais."


	6. The Future of Thais

The maids flutterred around Rhen like a pack of butterflies. One was brushing her hair. Another was setting her gown aside to put on afterwards. A third tried to make her put high heeled shoes on, but Rhen swore to them, that if they forced her to do it one more time, she would grab her sword and cast Rain Dance.

There was a knock on the door.

"Whoever it is, let them in. I'm not in my underwear." She had now put on her stunning white gown, her purple locks falling down her shoulders, making the sight even more beautiful.

"He says he's a Mr…Darzon, m'lady?" Rhen's eyes opened wider. Without hesitation, she hurried to open the door herself, in her wedding wear. "Pa!" she yelled out when she saw the dark haired man at the entrance. He stepped in. Rhen, happy and surprised, reached out to take him in a long hug. Once they pulled away, he took a look at her, his eyes filling with joy.

"Goodness, girl, who would've thought I'd ever live to see you get married?" he laughed.

"Don't you dare make me cry today, old man." She said with a strong voice, but she could feel the tears building up. "Where's Ma?"

"In the grand hall downstairs. This place has barely changed since the last time I was here. I still know my way around, but she has no clue, so I just told her to stay put." He whispered the last sentence with a short chuckle. There was another knock on her door.

"I'll get that." Rhen said, trying to contain her tears. She opened the door to Devin, her birth father. "Devin! Come in."

The two men greeted eachother like the old friends that they were.

"I owe you for taking care of this beautiful girl right here." Devin said. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be happy ever again."

"Ah, Devin, you ol' Druid. How's the life?"

"You know, married a priestess. She's been bossing me around so much today. Speaking of which, gotta make this visit short. Rhen, Talia told me to tell you… that there will be no bride's bouquet, because the special flowers she ordered haven't been delivered."

"That's fine." The fact didn't bother her at all. "Let's hope she doesn't get all too crazy about it."

"Honestly, she's spending more time thinking about this wedding than you. Well, I must be going, I'll just wait downstairs. You good, Tailor?"

"Just stand in front of the entrance to the hall. We'll be there." Devin left. Rhen was excited. She loved the man she thought for sixteen years was her father, but she also concidered that she should let them both walk her down the isle. It would be unfair to either of them if she picked just one. "Whenever, you're ready, honey." He said, feeling that he must somehow _calm_ her.

"Just a minute." Rhen walked over to the mirror. No signs of tears coming out. She checked twice on each side of her face. 'You're not allowed to cry, this is a happy day.' After she was sure there was no chance of her eyes turning red, she stepped up next to Tailor, putting her left arm through his right one. "Alright, Pa. Let's go."

* * *

"Do you, Rhen Pendragon, take Lars Tenobor to be your husband?" there was a short silence after the vicar's words, only filled with the music of the nightingale.

"I do." She mouthed 'Always' to Lars afterwards.

"And do you, Lars Tenobor, take Rhen Pendragon to be your wife?"

"I do… Always." He said, making Rhen grin.

"Then, by the power given to me by the traditions of Thais, I pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride." The vicar added slightly more silently.

Rhen and Lars grabbed eachother in a passionate kiss. He cupped her face with his hands and she laid hers on his shoulders, trying to maintain proper position and not ruffle his hair as they kissed. The guests applauded. Even Dameon's stiffened claps were noticable. The newlyweds broke the kiss. Rhen smiled at Lars.

"I love you." He said, smiling back.

"I love you, too."

Lars reached for her hand, turning to walk down the isle, amongst the party. Whilst they passed, Te'ijal stopped them to say something.

"Congratulations, humans." She said. "You will both make fine rulers of this Isle."

"And if you ever need a Paladin in the palace, I pledge my sword to you for as long as you two shall want me." Galahad stepped in.

"Husband, don't you dare think to leave me to go back alone to Ghedr'ahre. If you are their Paladin, I'm staying with you. I don't want you running off with some Thais woman. I _still_ have your soul." Te'ijal smiled kindly, but she was dead serious. "The punishment for her won't be severe, but you will have an eternity to live through yours." Rhen and Lars were astonished. They had frozen, with half-shocked, half-laugh containing faces. Galahad gulped.

"Of course not, wife." He finally said.

"Alright then." The vampress now had a wider smile on her face. Oh, she loved to shake him like that. This would be an interesting eternity.

"Thank you. Both of you." Rhen said, one of her arms crossed with Lars', the other - caressing it. "When we come back, you can be our Paladin for as long as _you _wish, Galahad. And Te'ijal, we are forever in your debt. You have full freedom in the kingdom. But," she added quickly. "just don't drink any of the people's blood. Please."

"I can refrain."

"So, _husband_, what do you say we head on to our honeymoon?"

"Why, of course, _wife_." Said Lars, both him and Rhen grinning. "Goodbye!" he called out as they left the grand hall, heading for outside the castle, where a carriage waited to escort them from the city. They specifically asked John if they could borrow Braynilli for the trip. The pirate agreed to allow his dragon be taken from him, under the condition that they all come home safe. '_Especially_ the dragon.' He had said with a smile on his face. As the vampires watched the new rulers of the kingdom leave, Rhen in her beautiful white gown and Lars, dressed in a magnificent dark blue robe, Te'ijal spoke her mind.

"How would you feel if we were to get children, Galahad?"

He was shocked. A scared look qickly passed through his face, the horrifying thoughts settling in his head.

"Let us not think of such things, wife. _Please_." She smirked at his words.

"Who knows, maybe in three hundred years, someone else will decide to take over the world. And then, of course, there would have to be someone chosen to save it. We could be protectors again." Te'ijal had had a taste of the life outside again. There was no going back and Galahad knew it.

"For the world's sake, let's hope not." He mumbled.

* * *

The End


End file.
